KalanimÃÂlokuloku-i-Kepoûokalani Keliûimaikaûi (c. 1765âÂÂ1809) was a High Chief and the most popular brother of Kamehameha the Great, who founded the Kingdom of Hawaii.
He was generally credited as an ancestor of Queen Emma of Hawaii, the consort of Kamehameha IV, a candidate for the Royal Election of 1872. His name Keliûimaikaûi in the Hawaiian language means "The Good Chief". Sometimes his name is spelled Kealiûimaikaûi. or by visiting Europeans as Tidi Miti or Tereameteûe. He is sometimes called a Prince due his relation to Kamehameha. He was also the Chief Priest of ûIo and KÃÂne.
Keliûimaikaûi was born in around the year 1765. His mother was the High Chiefess Kekuiapoiwa II of the Kona district and father was High Chief Keà Âua of the Kohala district. His only full brother was Kamehameha I, although he had many half-siblings through his parents' other marriages. His father Keà Âua was the grandson of Keaweûëkekahialiûiokamoku, who had once ruled a large portion of the island of Hawaiûi. After his death the island erupted into civil war and Alapainui, a chief of Kohala, gained the upper hand and dispossessed his father of his lands. Kekuûiapoiwa II was daughter of Haûae-a-Mahi, the brother of Alapainui. His kahu (guardian) is said to have been Koûoluaaliûiolaûi.e. and her husband, Kaha Kà «Ã»aikea (the brother of KahaÃȈ Âhulani, guardian to Kamehameha I).
When he grew up and king Alapainui was long dead, he assisted his brother in unifying the Big Island of Hawaii. Keliûimaikaûi was known for his kindness, compassion, and mercy to his enemies. For this reason he was Kamehameha's most popular brother. The story of how he came to be known as Keliûimaikaûi ("the Good Chief") shows the mercy he showed to his foes. Around 1775, he was sent on an expedition to conquer the lands and confiscate properties in the Kipahulu and Hana districts of the Island of Maui, under the rule of the Maui king Kahekili II. The two districts had been formerly owned by their deceased half-brother, Kalokuokamaile. Kamehameha requested that their widow sister-in-law, Kaloiokalani, give the guardianship of the land and her daughter Kaohelelani to Keliûimaikaûi. Although there may have been some resistance, Keliûimaikaûi was victorious. Instead of punishing the people who had opposed him, he respected their rights and property. As stated by Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau: "There was no sugar cane broken off, no potatoes dug up, no pigs roasted." The makaûÃÂinana (common people) loved him and called him "the Good Chief" by which he was ever after known."
He was so highly thought of that he was the only chief that was not allowed to work on the construction of the Puûukohola Heiau lest it defile his sacred status. The historian, John Papa ûêûë, Keliûimaikaûi's mana (spiritual power) was so great that "whatever he dedicated became very kapu", two examples were the bathing pools in Kawaihae, called Keliûialalahoûolaûawai and Alawai.
Keliûimaikaûi died November 14, 1809, months before the final unification of Hawaiian Islands. Reportedly the only person allowed to see him on his deathbed was his daughter.
He married his half sister Kiûilaweau. By Kiûilaweau he had Kekuaokalani (d. 1819).
He also married the High Chiefess Kalikoûokalani, daughter of High Chief Kekuaûalaimoku and High Chiefess Kanenuiakalani. Her father was the son of Kalaninuiamamao and half brother of both KalaniÃȈ Âpuûu and High Chief Keawemauhili. By Kalikoûokalani, he had KaÃȈ Âanaûeha (1780âÂÂ1850) who married John Young Olohana, a former British sailor and trusted advisor of Kamehameha, and mother a dynasty of Hapa-Haole nobility.
During the 1880s, King KalÃÂkaua had his own genealogist publish an article denouncing Samuel M. Kamakau's genealogy linking Queen Emma to Keliûimaikaûi. The genealogist argued that Keliûimaikaûi "himself denied publicly that he had a child named Kaoanaeha" and "that it was accepted by the chiefs of that time...[So] how can SMK [Samuel M. Kamakau] turn the truth into a lie, when he knows the true genealogy of the Queen?" Even ten years after the accession of KalÃÂkaua, the genealogy battle continued because there were still threats that Queen Emma's supporters, called Queenites or Emmaites, would place her on the throne. Emma's supporters contradicted KalÃÂkaua's claims and said instead that Keliûimaikaûi had recognized KaÃȈ Âanaûeha as his daughter. Queen Emma was never quoted on her opinion in these arguments. Neither were the views of Queen Liliûuokalani known until the publication of her autobiography. Liliûuokalani claimed that Keliûimaikaûi had no children, that Kiûilaweau, Keliûimaikaûi's first wife, was a man, and that KaÃȈ Âanaûeha was the daughter of High Chief Kalaipaihala, instead. This and other claims may have intended to belittle Queen Emma because the House of KalÃÂkaua lacked the lineage and support of the Hawaiian people that she possessed.